


Promise

by Shioniyazuya



Category: Cytus (Video Games), Cytus 2, Cytus II
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-29
Updated: 2019-06-29
Packaged: 2020-05-28 18:48:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19400203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shioniyazuya/pseuds/Shioniyazuya
Summary: Aroma comes to a realization about herself





	Promise

The only thing she could truly remember was the pain. Electricity flowing from strange wires straight into her system.  
The circuits of her body, bursting like bubbles. Like every vein was popping and bursting as her throat became hoarse from her pleads and cries for help. 

Would it ever stop? Was there a reason for her to keep screaming?  
Would she ever be truly free?  
Such thoughts were meaningless, burned and thrown out of her consciousness as the river of pain rushed without a single sign of ever stopping. 

Pulse, beating, images, memories, voices.  
A stream of incoherent thoughts shooting in and out of her visions, deleted not a single second later. 

An object, a person, an Idol, a dream, a desire, a star, a lost soul.  
One to be tricked and deceived, for the satisfaction of those who only care for the things they lost long ago. 

It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts.

Not an illusion, but reality.  
Without a room for even a single doubt, the pain would never fade from her mind. 

Do you know who you are? Who you're not? Are you alive, or are you dead? Here, or there? Is there any point to thinking? Could it be that if you don't, you'll go insane right away?  
Then why don't you give in? Maybe if you die right now, you'll finally be free.  
Isn't that what you want? To rest? 

Then give in. Give up. 

And what for?  
Breaking out of a crashed train of thoughts, one wrecked completely by the stinging sensation, is that same question.  
One that seems to distort her past more every time it is asked. 

Who am I?

And as the distortion overtook every nook and cranny of her mind, destroying and tearing apart everything inside her, a single voice called out. One clear, coherent voice, rising from the core of the fogs of her misery. One that tears apart the darkness.

Wake up, Kaori. 

"A, ah-!"  
The scream she was about to let out was swallowed back into her throat as she opened her eyes. 

"Uh, Aroma? You okay?"  
The concerned Neko Asakura asks, tilting her head to the right slightly. 

The girl in the bed's eyes scan from side to side, thoughts rapid-firing through her head.  
A somewhat messy room, a fluffy pink bed, a black computer in the very center, over a desk pestered by candy wrappers and several different gadgets. 

"I, uhm..", Aroma squeals as she comes to the realization that the pain she felt was nothing more than a product of her imagination.  
A dream. To be more specific, a nightmare. 

"I was just making breakfast, and you kept making weird noises. You really scared Neko, you dummy!", she scolded her as she playfully ruffled her hair. "Come on, get up! Come eat something." 

After laying a soft, careful kiss on Aroma's forehead, she left the room, not bothering to close the door behind her. 

After wiping away the few remaining tears in her eyes, she sighed in relief. 

"Yeah, it's.. It's all okay..", she whispered to herself. There was nothing to worry about. Right now, no one could hurt her. As long as Neko was with her, she wouldn't.. 

"Eep!"  
A sudden, sharper pain struck her head. Like a spear being thrust forward at the speed of lightning.  
Clutching her head with both her hands, she rolled around the bed hoping to make the pain stop. 

"S, stop.. Agh!"  
In her rolling frenzy, she fell of the bed, hitting the ground wrapped in black and pink blankets. 

As if spacing out, she stared at the ceiling as her pain slowly faded away into the nothingness. 

This kind of thing wasn't unusual for Aroma.  
She would constantly have nightmares, suffer from sudden headaches, and suddenly lose even more memories. 

A lot of the times, she would end up crying after her night terrors. But she couldn't let Neko see,so she hid herself away in her room and tried to be as quiet as possible. Otherwise, she would be even more worried. Aroma already owed her her life, making her even more nervous would just be wrong!

"I, I should eat something.."  
Trying her hardest to pretend she hadn't just had that dream, she slowly stood up and placed the blankets on top of the bed. 

Making sure it was neat and tidy, she scurried out of the room, following Neko's footsteps. 

Aroma liked living here, she really did.  
When Neko's family was there, it was very lively, though Aroma never got to see any of them face-to-face.  
It all helped her feel like she wasn't alone in the struggles of her daily life. Especially all the time she got to spend with Neko, she felt like she was slowly becoming happier. 

Neko's family had gone on a trip, and she took that as a chance to spend as much time with Aroma as possible. Though she was a bit like a child at times, Aroma loved Neko. And every single second they spent together, every little memory they made, would be forever close to their hearts. 

"Here you go!"  
Once Aroma had settled down on the dining table, Neko placed a plate of delicious-looking pancakes in front of her. 

Aroma looked at them in awe, as if sparkles danced within her eyes.  
"Uhm, can I really..?" 

"What are you waiting for? Dig in!", Neko made weird gestures, almost resembling an enthusiastic showman. 

"Thank you for the food!", Aroma babbled as she took her utensils and began to fork down the treat. 

"Hehe, you're too cute.", Neko said as she sat down, and took a bite out of her sandwich. The couple enjoyed a peaceful breakfast, Aroma occasionally laughing at one of Neko's silly remarks. 

For Aroma, each day was riddled with anxiety. Memories flashing past and disappearing, leaving only faint traces that blurred her sight. Meaningless words that seemed to come from nowhere, pain that made her want to hide away from the rest of the world for what was left of her life. 

But maybe, just maybe, living with Neko would help her find the key to who she truly was. Even if the chances were astronomically low, even if her hope was only a small dot in the realm of possibilities, she believed in what little there was. 

And she was sure, that at the very least, she would pay Neko back for all the things she had done for her. 

-♬-

"Aroma? Are you spacing out again?"  
Neko's voice brought Aroma's consciousness back into her body. Realizing she had been standing with her hand in the glass pane of a store's window, she looked at over at Neko. 

"Ah, sorry.."  
"Don't apologize! Anyway, there's more stuff to see around this place..", Neko babbled as she moved forward. 

As if she couldn't quite remember where she was, Aroma looked around.  
It was a huge supermarket, with dozens of trendy-looking stores, signs with bright lights and striking logos, advertisements and posters as far as the eye could see. 

And above all, the people.  
So many people, so much white noise that came from them, it almost made Aroma dizzy. Like she was in another world totally different from the one she lived in.  
As she noticed Neko get too far away from her, she made a little dash towards her, then tapping her on the shoulder. 

"Are you sure it's okay for me to be outside? What if I get recognized?", Aroma muttered as she made sure to not get too far away from her.  
"It's okay! You're almost unrecognizable with that hairstyle. It'll all be fine."  
Aroma sighed, as she continued to walk next to her. 

Now that she thought about it, she hadn't had time to do these kinds of things back when she lived with Helena.  
It was either practice, or talking to fans.  
There was never any time for her to do things she wanted to do. 

And even then, she had forgotten. What she liked to do besides singing.  
Like it was a distant, far away memory.  
And living with Neko had helped her remember what it was like. 

Each of the couple's steps was illuminated by the lights coming from the installments. Slowly, but surely, Aroma felt herself pulled into the cold of the chilly night, as the people around her buzzed and talked, as laid back as they could be.  
It was an alluring atmosphere, one that Aroma slowly felt herself pulled into. For now, she could let of her worries, and simply have fun. 

“Hey, there’s an arcade here! Wanna go in?”, Neko bounced around with enthusiasm. Aroma let out a soft sigh.  
“Sure. Let’s go.”

The place was filled with striking neon lights coming from the game cabs as far as Aroma could see, with plenty of vendors with snacks.  
Neko made her way around the hallways as if she had been here a thousand times before.

“Aroma, come play some Nyarhythm! I love this game..”  
She walked until she was right next to Neko.

“Uhm, should I..?”  
“Yeah! Go, go!”

The bright lights of the game almost intimidated Aroma as she pressed the huge “PLAY!” button

"Uhm, let's see.."  
As the notes flew towards the huge screen, Aroma remembered the times she had seen Neko play.  
Just tap the screen to the beat, right? 

As the speed of the flying notes increased, Aroma's hands became faster and faster, finally getting accustomed to playing. 

A few minutes later, Aroma had cleared the song, obtaining a rating of.. 

".. Double S!", Neko announced as she wrapped her arms around her. "You did it!" 

"Aaah, I did it..?"  
"Yep! You did really well!" 

It was just a silly arcade game, but seeing Neko so proud of her made Aroma's entire afternoon. 

There was never time for fun. For simple, light-hearted fun. She could never feel truly at ease, because there was always something to do.  
But she finally remembered what it felt like. To simply play around with a friend, laughing the day away, having pure, innocent fun. 

-♬-

It was a bit of an exhausting time for Aroma, sure, because Neko always acted like a small, excited child. And she kept dragging Aroma around different arcades, shops and restaurants. Even so, it was a really calm, fun day for both of them. 

"Aah, finally home~", Neko bounced around the room as she let down the shopping bags on the couch, then letting herself fall into it. 

"It was really fun, Neko. Thank you.", Aroma said, still eating a crepe.  
"No need to thank me! You're my guest,  
after all. I'm allowed to treat you." 

Aroma sat on the couch next to Neko, and lay her head on her lap.  
"I'm.. really sleepy..".  
"Oh, you sleepy head. Neko's gonna get you a blanket! One sec.."  
She gently moved Aroma's head to lay it on the couch, then stood up from the couch, moving to her bedroom. 

Aroma was still impressed at how calm the house made her feel. Something about her own home made her feel on-edge, nervous. But being here, all she could feel was warmth- a simple atmosphere in which she couldn't help but smile. 

"Ack!"  
Aroma felt yet another sharp pain strike her brain..  
And another, and another, and another. 

Tears began to run down her face as the thoughts and images rapid fired through her vision. 

K̵̛̲̩̘̱͆̊͒̉̕a̸̠̤͕͔͋͑̚͝ǒ̶̹͓̣̦̫͖̪͓̗̖̭̪̓̽̅̃͗̈́ͅŕ̸͈͇͚̟̣̖͉͆̾̈̕͜ḯ̵̤̤̞̺͖͔̭̜̗̺̘̮̮͗̕ͅ,̴͔̼̮͖̉̽ ̸̡̠̯̤̱̗̥͙͓͙̝̖͆̋̔̈́̓͌̏̅̓͐̈͘͝Ḵ̷̖̲͈̫̻̯̜̔͒̋͊̒̃̀̉͋̕̚͘͝͝a̵̞̝̠̮̯̤͔̱̣͌̑̓̕ͅȏ̷̢͕̟̠̰̖̱̬̤̤̩͈r̶̛̗̹͎̲̟̹i̶̧̫̰̠͕̠̎͆̿̄̍͌̇̔͘͠ͅ,̴̡̟͚͇̬͇̭͕̠̉ ̸͉̦̦̻̻̬̅̐̍͑͋̆̈́̐̕͘͠K̷̡̤̗͉̠͎̲̻̙̘̘͈͎̜̍a̸̘̣̙͎̪̟̯̘̙͈͐̏̓͒̃̊̎̾͘͘͝o̶̼͂͆̍̑̉̂͂̍r̵̟̺͕̤̳̻͉̟̯̮̘͙̬͕͐ḭ̷̞̪̳͔̪̮̤͙͓̖̙̞̞̍͛͊̉̇̾͗̃̚̕͠ͅ,̴̢̧̢̛̮͖͍̩̗̲̠͖͔̩̉̋̔̓̒̆̕ ̵̹̠͔͊̉̒͂̍͒͐̆̉̀̕͠͝Ķ̴͍̞̮̦̹̐̈̅̉̊̐̒͊͝͠á̴͙͎̻͓͗̃̊͆͂̅ô̶̡̧͔͇͓̪̖̝͍̦̺̅̊̄͛̑̍̕ͅr̷̡̫͖̼̙̯̙͎̘͋̈̊̑̓͊̀̐͐̉̽̈́͌͐̀ḭ̶̰̯̖͓̦̏͂̎̀͛̊̔̒̊̅,̵̪̩̯̳͓͈̳̝̤̼͔̤͇̳͊̏͒͋̈́͛̔̂͐͗͘̚ ̵̧̧̛̮̼̺̹̭̘̱̞̝͇̰̓͜K̴̡̞̻̦̹̙̹͉͎̙̣̹̉a̷̫̱͔͖̩̙̭͑̚ơ̴͎̬̤̺̦̆̐̔̋̏̓̉̔̓̄́̕ŗ̴̨̩̞̲̟̭͓̦̻͇̀̾͊͂͒ï̷̥͈̣̩̳̜̝̪̣̼̈̊̋͊͗̓,̵̢̡̧̛͈͓͙̯͋́̀͐̒̇͝ ̵̢̤̖͓̝̟̭͓͖̘̥̭̜̊̽̕͝Ḳ̸̩̥̙̺̑å̷̳̟ǒ̸̢͎̮̦̖͉͖̙̀́͝ͅṟ̷̢̢̨̧̣̙̹̼̪͕̃̃̾̋̾̽̋̏̈́̚i̸͉̝̯̣̲͕̥̗̪̫͙̇̓̿͂̂̋̊͐̾̾͘͠͝,̵̗̈́̔̈́̐̍͑̐̓̉͛͊̈ ̵̧̛͔͍̲͖̗̩̼͓͇͂͛͒͊̐̆͆̚ͅͅ  
̷̨̛̼͋̈́̍͐̔́̅͊͐̄͜͝ͅK̵̠͉̝̞̰͂̅̆̃̃̉̋̄̄͗̎͊͘ͅą̶̨̢̻̤̬̼̦̱̓̒ͅơ̴̡̮̣̠͓̰͔̪͖͙͆̂̉̍̈́̔̃̓̈̈́͌͌͠r̵͔̜̠͔͗̉̈́͐̃̎̈̏̊̈̚͝ǐ̶̛̦͈̗̗̩̠͇͙͐̐͒͋̑͘̕͜ͅ,̶̧͍͖̙̲̮̲̝̹̳̦̖̪͇̈́̌ ̵͎̹̦͍͔̲̓͂͝K̶͖̘̠͕͇̝͖̺͍͉̲̊̊̃̌͐͌̆̾̔̏̽̚͘ą̵̻͔̞̣͎͕͓̺̊ͅơ̴̢̘̰̖͇̙͓̹̳͚̅̀̔̕͝ͅr̵̮̤̔͛̒̐̐̌̐̽̿̓̓į̴̰̤͉̙̹̼̟̹̅̔̂̈́̍̃̒͜,̸̧͕̘͈̠̭͎̲͎̹͈̳̞͑̄̿̅̕ͅͅ ̷̬̪͉̺̯̐̅̀̋̎͛̅͑̌́̑̑ͅK̶̢̨̢͎̱̰̻͉̝̲̬͑̕͜ä̴̧̧̫̮̥̳̩͉̼́͝o̵̡͔̲͎͚̭̠̹̟̺̬̳̘̥̠̊̉̋̅̍̍̒̈́͐̓̉͑̉̕r̷̡̺͕̰̲̼͎͂̈́̚ï̸̧̡͖̳̟̥̪͔͕̜̏̆̓̆̍̓̌̀̂̕̕͘͝͠,̵̯̖̯̬̺̬̣̃͝ ̸̢̢͌͌̇̈́̾͗͂̉̓̓̕͘͝K̷̛̛̦̼̗̗̹͉̓̇̑̍̈̏̌̎͆̾͝͝a̸̭̅̇̑̅͗̓̾͆͆o̸̧̮̪̬͐̋͋͑͂̊̊͂͐̎ř̴̢̝̙̭͚̙͎̣̘̣̙̱͚̏͝i̵͖͉̿͌̑̚͘,̷̩̝͆ ̶͇̲̺̺̬̠̳̤̺͓̞͕̹̄̈́̔̋̌̃̓̚ͅK̸̟͇̺̳̏͌̈́̂̂̒̈̍̓͝͝͠ͅa̶̡͓̫̠͎̱̟̻̰͎͈̮̼͇̳̒̃̑̌̿̑͗͂͘̚o̸̠̩͕͔͎͖͔͌̉̑̓̈́̓̎̊͋̓̃͊̓͠r̵̼̬̹̰̲̜̠̟̼̯͕̫̲̬̄̎̊̿͜ĭ̷̖͓̰͓̝̩̰͕̃̅̀,̷͖̜͍̭͋̈́͐̽͊͊́̎͊͜͠͠ ̴̼͙̯͈̺̰̥̪̻̮͌͌̐̏̈́̎K̸͈̙̮̝̜̖͕̘̦̜̐͑̑̿̀̆̇͆̉͒̚͝ą̵̨̣̖̗̖͙̪̫̝̰̲̣̙́͛͛͘͜o̴͙͉͙̯͖̼͇̙͋̾̐̃̑ŗ̷̜̦̗͍͕͎̱̳̈͒͑̾̎͗͗̈́̾͗̚ḯ̸̻͉̘̫̩,̸̱̻̥̮͛̄̄͑́͒̄̐̂ ̸̙̥̻͆̑̈͌̒͊́́̍͛̔͘͘͜͝  
̷̻̹̰̭̜̦̙̥̖̑K̷͕͎͗͊͊̕͘a̴̤͊́͋͂͋̄̌̈͛̑̿̏͝ṑ̵̻̿͛́̐̑͂̎̕ͅͅȓ̴̭̞̻͇̟͈̃̽̅̍̎͋̿͛̃̚͘͝͝i̶̛̹͉̘̞̤̗͎̣̩̼͗͗̎͝,̵̢̢̧̖̪͚̘̩͙̞͚̝̊̓̆̑̅̓̂ ̶̨̮͈̜̩̝̿͋K̸̢͕̥͎͙̰̀̂͐̈́͂͜a̴̭̙͐͗͌͝ơ̶̻̐̅r̶̨̛̪̫͎̩͙͖̝̩̝̝͗̓͌̈̆̀̓͂̾̉̐̂͜i̷̝̖̱̖̰̙̩̽,̶̨̢̟̘̬̮͕͕̼̗̠̐̔͌͆̃͆̆͝ͅ ̵̨͍̻̜̝̲͇͖̺͕̠̉̇͠K̶͙̘̟̪̰̹̱̲̱̳̮̑͊̎̎̈͑̊̊̈́̈̋̎͒̇͘a̷̹̦̣̥ȍ̸̡̨͎͉̇̑͗͗͌̒̾̚r̸͙̙͚̒̚i̴̡̨̧̪̻̘͉͎̜̯̜̣̹̺̼̋̅̍̆́͂͐̿̉̀̐,̷͚̠̩̭̮̔͝ ̵̡̨̼͎̰̜̗̺̰̣̻͈̓̉̋̔̏̆̍̃͝K̷̻̫̦͍̯͆̆̎̉͆̈́͑̏͗̉̅ȁ̴̡̢̠̭̳̦̦͒̋̏͌o̷̧͙͓̘͚̥̎̐̓͆͊͊͂͂͆͗͜ŕ̷͕̙͇̓̈́̆̈́͊̉͛̆͊͘i̴̧̨̢̤̰̦̝̝̫͔̬̜̙̱̼͌͆̐̔̍̌͊̑̈̑̌̋,̸̹̲͕̪̺̉̋̈́ ̶̢̧̱̲͈̺͚͉̱̃̎̒̈́͑̌͐̕͠͝K̷͍̼͇̹̩̯̠͐̆͑̓͌͛̂̀̀͑̿ǎ̶̱̱̝͖͚̦̼̫͆̍̈̋ͅò̵̩͓̹̮͛̿r̸͎͕͇̼̞̩̞̖̦̜̺͍̯̬̍̈́̃͛̌͐̆ỉ̴̧̛̩̲̱̤̮̰͕͂̒͌̒̓̚̚̕͠ͅ,̵̱̪͈̺̲͂̈̿̆̓̏͑͜ ̵̧͎̫̻̳̝̥̣̪̭̥̞̯͚̆̒̄̒̽̾͌̈́͌̑͋K̵̨̠̦̫̖͉̯͚̖͇̥̺̎͛̒͋̇͜͜a̶̲͇̟̟̥̫̦̥̘̐̾̈̃o̴̱̹̒͘͜͝ŗ̷̜̘̮̃͜ị̶̲̃̓̈́̐͜͝,̸̛̞̯͕͎̥͍͉̞̳̙͎͇̯͐̍̇͂͂͌ ̷̪̜͇͗̈́͗̄̇͌̓͒̀̀͝͝͝  
̸̛̦̱̫͕̝̩̼̤̥̭̻͍̟̊̈͒͌K̴̡̨̧̟̞͎̺̝̙̯̣̖̪͊͛̾̃̂͠å̷̡̠̘̱͈̿͊͗͆̐͋͜͠ó̷̧͙̦̭͔͔̙͕̯̪̼̯̾͒̏͗͆͛̓͊͠r̵̢̢̛͇̱̰͖̦͉͗̂̋̅̂͐͗̉̔͘i̷̢̻̤̱̞̭̙̣͎͓͖͖̓̓̅̎͋͐̌̚̕͝͠,̸͚̝͚͎̟̖̥͉̫̻̠͗͐̽̆͒̽̉̽͘̕ ̴͔̲̗̝̩̎͒͒̎̂̒̑̽͆̎̈́̐̆͌K̵̩͈͋̐ą̵̧͓̬͎̦̞̣͔̐̇̎̈́͌͜͜ơ̵̡͈̲̥̻̙̼̙̻̺̠̏̀͑̃͠r̵̨̛̺̙͈͕̗̹̞͍͙̰͉͒̃̌̍̈́ì̷̗̀͂̆̏̽͑͜,̶̡͍͈̜̮̪̍̋̎͋̓̐̊͋̄͋̕͘͜͠ ̷̢̛̩̜͕̝̥̺̥̻̗̳͚͓̀̂̈́̋̍̏͒̇͘̕͘ͅĶ̷̢̯̭̩̣͕̤̥̗̳̳̤͙̐̿̔̅͒̐̄́̅͐̽̿͘a̸̘̫̹̱͚͎̥̲̳̭̒̅̎̿͐͛̑͆͌͝ò̴̠͕̠͈r̷̢̲͈̼̮͕̜̙̟̦̟̞̱̦̄̒̿̉̔̋͐͂i̵̧̨̛̳̟̙̖̹͍̐̈́͗̚͝,̸̧̨̨̗̹̘̝̹̺͙̂͗̆͑́̚ ̷̡͙̟̹͙͇̞̤̗̥͕̙͒͂͒͑̾̎͐̄̐̓́͗̕͠K̴̩͔͙͛̃̾a̸̧͚̪̝̫͚̼̺̦̰͓͓̗͋̈͜o̶̢̝͉͕͖̙̖̝̻̹̩̯̓̓̑̏̈͐͋͜ͅr̸͈̱̤̹͚͓̩̝̬͔͖͊̅̄̓̒̌̅̈̇͒͘͝ȋ̵̢̡͇͉̜͉͔̤̣̈́̿̉̑͛̋͜,̷̙̥͖͍̲͍͍̦͔͔̞̙̟͊̓̄͂͊͌͛̓̔̀̓̕ ̷̰̱͓͙͔̦͕̔ͅK̸̨̡̫͖͖̞̭̇ą̴̢̘͍͕̞̹͖̼͕̩͉͇̮̌̅̑̚͠ó̶͙̤̹̘̺̩̮̊̈́͛̏͌͌͐̂̎̋̍̂͘r̶̡̼̞͇͖̗̈́̌i̶̛̲̥͚̇̈́̒͌͗̅͌̉̌̔̕͠,̴̡̢̛͖̦̺̟̈́̿̚͠ ̴̹̗̍̂̆͒̒̕͝Ḵ̷̆̋̍͊̽̅̐̒͠ͅa̶̗̣̰͎̒ȯ̴̥ŗ̵̡͉̞̰͓̘̺̌̿̈̅͐̍͌͐̋͌̅͊͗̐͝ͅḯ̸̫̥̟͉̝͚̬̞̘̀͆̇̅͜ ̶̧̨̡̞̭̜͕̦̩̻̙͍̈́̐͊͒̐́̇̈́͆̒͝  
̵̹̑͛̍Ķ̷̨̨̛̹̖̪̞͍͑̽̍͌̓̀͌̇͘͜a̸̛̮̬̖͚̪̯̝͚̱̤̝͒̾͐̊̚͜ơ̸̧̥̳̪͍͉͚̰̼͈͎̬͔͙͛̇̋̂̽̌̃̓͐̿͘r̵͚̳̼̤͙̪͉̄͐͋̈̓̚͝ȋ̸̜̩̗͎̘̰́̉͊͊̃,̵̧̥̞͉̣͚̥̗̝̙̮̰̫̩̩͐̓̌͛̀̚͘ ̶͈͚̹͓͂Ķ̶̧͕̞̗͉͍̻̦̰̩̥̆̌̐̒͐̿̕̕ͅa̸̹͌̎̎͝o̵͚̰̼̐̇̍͑͆̕͜r̶̛̙͙̗ị̷̛̘̭͍͚̄͜͜,̸̡̥̱̟̗̝̯͙͖̗͎͎̯͓̖̎̇̿̎̈́̀͑̚ ̶̡͇̫͙̯̯͓̤̥̟̠̪͚͕̦̍̇͛̉̈́̃̍̏͛̔̀̒͒̅̾K̷̨̧̛͖̲͚̪̬͇̘̙̗͖̈́̅͗̍͊͂̄̔̎͑̔̏͘ã̷̧͈͔͉̠̗̲̣͚̣̞͙̪͉͛̈̂̎̀̈̾̑̃͘͝͝͠o̵͖̤͎͉͈̎̓̿͛͝ȑ̸̛͉͎͓̱͙̼̮͍̙̼̰͎̺̓̔̾͗̿̾ͅͅį̵͈̫͈̰̭̥̜̟̣͉͎̃͂̈͌͊͌̎̇͐̓͛͑̒̍,̸̛̹͙̺̺̞̘̍̒̂ ̴̡͓̱̘̝̻̰͖̫͓̈́̑͆̅̓̽̍͑̌̈́̚͠K̷͙̭̿̊̎â̸͕͚̭̰̫͚͒͗̾̊̈́̄͋͐̕̕ȍ̷̢̨͕̫̮͔̬̪̠̙̤͐̉́̓̅̅͘̚͝͠͝r̸̫̮̼̓̂̅̍̈́̂̾̓̒̌͐͝i̶̡̧̙͍̟̦̫̺̼̞̗̩̰̠̇̓̃̚͠,̵̨͍̗̗̦̘̪͋̎͛ͅ ̴̢̠̥̞̘͔̯̜̱̘̮͍̱̤̃͂̈̏͗̆̚͜͝K̷̠̩͙͉̥̇̂̈͐͌͊̌̋̕̕͝͝ą̸̣̙͈̰͐̂o̵͎̽͛̉͛͗͜ŗ̶̮̩̗̓̊͑̿̔̊͒́̓̓̍͝i̷͎̹̪̫̰̙͓͑͜͜,̶̟͉͉͙̬͚͉̦̪̰̠͖͖͛̆̂͊͒̃̅̑̕ ̶̡͕̠̺̳̮͈̘̽̽̅͠K̸̨̲̪̲̥̼̦̺͎̦̳̰̰͖̙͛͋̋̅̈́̆a̴̡̨̪͓͉͉̰͑̍̊̎͒̌͛̑̆o̵̮͔̟̩̫̪̫̗̊͋̾̇̾̋͛̈͘͠͠͝r̴̭̘̺̤̫͔͛i̶͈͆̈̐͝͠ ̴̢͍̝̇͘  
̴̢̮͈͙͉̻͈͑̽̓͋̉̔͑̔͂̒͘͘ͅ  
̷̡̧̝̳̘̜̟̼̣̼̙̓

And it never stopped speaking to her, that grating voice that bounced within her mind as if it was making fun of her. A morbid, messed up joke that she wasn't in on. 

And one that she couldn't escape, no matter how much she kept running away from it. 

She can't remember.  
Anything at all. 

Like sharp blades that swirl around before stabbing full-force on her head. It won't stop, it won't stop, it won't stop. 

And it haunts her.  
They haunt her, the distorted, unknown voices, the colors, images and smells she's never once known. 

A͎͔̹̙͙͋͐͊̃͗r͈͉̠̪͚͂̀̔̑͋ǫ̛̲͕̤͊͗m̡̖̺̦̑͑̌͌̚ͅa̛͇͚̐̈́̓͜͜?̲̪̠̓̅͌ Ȧ̠̠́r̻̔e̡̩͖̬̬͒͂̕͡ ̜̩̐̄͞ͅy̱͞o̡̱̾̕u͕̠͛̐̀̿͢͟ ̺̮̮̣̉̊͑̍ͅo͎̮͌͞k̢̪̞̟̬̍̌̏͋ā̭̻̇̓͢y?͚͔̏͛ ̝̬̿̃̒ͅI̗͂ ͚̙̌̽d̖̪͔͎́̒̀͠id̘̂n͎̬̱̍̄͊'͍͔̙̌̍̌t͕̰̟̒͗͞ d͓̦̆͝o̰̓ ̨̲̲̺̲̓̓̔͑̾s̢̛͖̣̮̐͑͘ͅȏ̼͓̘̆͛m̦͕̭͝͝ẹ̐t̝͛̌͢h͍̩̮̠̾̋̽͞ị͎̈͞n̛̮̮͈̲̩̒͋̅͘ḡ̨̪̑ ͉̔͘͟w̬̩͂͌ȑ̨̹̥͋̔o̡͕̐ng͓͖̋̇ ͇͉̃̊w͓͒h̤̰͋̾̌ͅi̝͝l̥̘̦͐̍e̩̯̽ ̲̣̔̕I̡̫͋̋̕ͅ ̰͇͕̯͛̓͒̎͞ͅw̩͕̌͑̊͟as̳͑ ͖̲͇̜̰̄̍̎̈͡d̡̦̾̾rủ͙̣͠nk̨̙͇͍̅̃͞͡,̬̖̦̓͒͞ ͉̚d̗̺̰̼̲̓̾̀̑ǐ̢͙̝̂͡͡ͅḍ̢̦̖̾͐̔̚ ̭̟́͠Į̨̞̗͆̿̕͠?̜͚̪̠̋͑̂͠ ͉̣̟̬̍̽̄̈́A͕̮͖̥̎̇̾̇ṙ͙̰͙͊͞ǫ̙͈͐̕͠m͛ͅa͈̎, ̦̪͘͝p̺l̜̮̮͂̚͠e̡̳̳͔͌̃̇̃a̪̳̺͇͂̿͘͝ș̡̦̞̇͌͊̍ê̫ ͇͉̻͓͗̿̂̕ả̠̻͋͠ͅn̙̈́̚ͅs̠̽w̤͓̓͞e̱̣̬͓̦͊͗̏̇͝ṙ̯̍͘͢͜.̯̈́  
̖͞A͈͇͉͉̮̐̑̓̀́r̨͘o͓͂̿ͅm̛̽͟͜ą̫̳̫̻͗́̀̆̐,͖̭̗̔̅̍ ̥̰̚Å̠̟͋r̻̺͇̽̕͜͞͞o͍̱̐͂ḿ̳̩̫̏͝a̛͈̺̠̱̙͋͋̓̚,͕͒ ̡͈͙͎̏͛́A̹̽r̠̳͗̽̓͟oṃ̆a̤͈̪̔̍̎,̤͝ ̼̳̤́̽͞A̫͎̐̿r̥̬̯̫̆̒̈̾͐͜o̗m̉ͅã̯̠̖̋͛,̖̥̜͔͗͒̍͘ ̧̘͊͐ͅA̡̳̺̎͂͘r̛̠̗͋om̪̞̗̟͑̂̑a̢̦̗̣͗͌̓͠,̙̍ ̧̺̟̩̋̔̈́Kͅā̮̯̗͒͌ȏ͉r̖̠̂͑i,̗ ̥̘̔͂͟͠Kḁ̥̖̩́̎̔͢͝͝or͚͕̟͐̆͗̚ͅĩ͉͈̻͚̘̔̚,̜̇ K̠̞̝̖̃͂̇̏͜͝a͈̙̦̺̓̉̒͂̚ͅo̗̳̙͚̎̽̇̿r̰̜̯̅̾̅i͉̒,̼̮̌̇ K̡̹̟͉͗͝͞͞ǎ͓o̩͍̼͇͐̅͆̏rȋ̤̹̥̊͐,̧̭̱̯̥̎̂̀̂ ͍͠Kȧ̠̹ő̗̫̹̦̆͋̋͟͠r͉͞i̠̕ ̧̠̳̔̿̿̉͢

As she squirms around the floor in pain, her screams break out of her throat and into the world, resounding across the previously peaceful room.. 

Noah..?  
Noah, please stop!  
It hurt. She didn't know what he was doing, but it hurt. The room was dark, and she couldn't see a thing. 

But it didn't stop. The pain simply continued to come in. A constant stream, not to be held back by any force in the world.  
Help me, help me, help me!  
Like she was stuck in the world of her own illusion, she begged for mercy as she felt the electricity graze her skin once again. 

"Aroma! Aroma!! What's wrong?!", Neko says as she tries to wrap her arms around her, yet..  
Aroma shoved her away. 

"W, What's wrong?"  
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" 

Neko jumped at Aroma's sudden howl of rage. She tried to get close again, but.. 

"I TOLD YOU TO GET AWAY!"  
"What did I do?!", Neko weeped as she witnessed Aroma yell at her in anger. 

Aroma felt the rage burn inside her, like a flame brimming with hate and frustration.  
And she couldn't control herself. There was no rational thought within her.  
All there was- hate, hate, hate, hate, hate..

"You wouldn't ever understand! Even you used to insult me like it was nothing! Do you have any idea how that felt?! Did you ever stop and think about what you were doing?!", she barked as she moved away from Neko as far as she could. "Just get away from me, leave me alone!" 

As Aroma's mind cleared a few seconds later, she felt as if she had no control over what she had just done. The fog began to fade away, everything went back to normal. And..  
Tears streamed down Neko's face.  
"I, I.." Neko sobbed as her hands shook. 

Before Aroma could even take a breath, Neko stood up and dashed towards her room, closing the door behind her with a bang. 

Shortly after, Aroma's pain had completely faded, but she didn't have the usual relief. Instead, she felt like there was a gaping hole in her chest. In a sudden rush of uncontrollable rage, she hurt the one she loved the most.

How was she supposed to live with that? 

-♬-

Tick, tock, tick, tock.  
2:56 AM. Not one minute after, not one minute before. 

And though it was an unreasonably late time in the night (or the morning), Aroma still couldn't get herself to sleep. 

Her usual nightmares were still an issue, but now she didn't have Neko to hug to help her sleep. 

And she couldn't forgive herself for what she did. So she spent the entire night, alone with her thoughts, beating herself over it over and over again. A self induced torture, one that had no end in sight. 

She was okay with that. She deserved it, for paying Neko back the way she did.  
She truly believed she deserved it.

Tick, tock, tick, tock.  
2:57 AM  
Swirling thoughts, a body brought to a complete stand-still.  
Seconds, minutes, hours. Like grains of sand falling within an hourglass.  
Slowly, ever so slowly. 

She tried to fall asleep, but everytime her thoughts would come in with a crash to stop her. 

Around and around, the same process Try to sleep, clear your mind, crash in, stand up, wander around, restart.  
One time, two times, three times.  
It had already been a torture the first time around. 

2:58 AM  
Still she lay restless.  
Living within this ethereal, eternal moment that stretched to infinity and back.  
No end in sight. 

Time doesn't stop, for anything or anyone, but it might as well have.  
She would have done something to break the process, but she had no desire to. And even then, there wasn't much she could do. 

Did she truly mean what she said?  
Where did all that anger come from? And why did she lash out at Neko?  
The questions would not stop haunting her, and she wasn't sure if she had a way to answer them.  
It reminded her of the time she had snapped at her sister, Helena.  
Sometimes, it was like her mind was split in two completely distinct sections.  
She couldn't tell who she was, but she would never snap like that- especially not towards Neko. 

Maybe it was that that other side of her was aching to come out, that it was tired of being shoved aside and forced to shut itself out. 

Was Aroma just imagining it? Was she just going crazy? 

If there was one thing she knew, is that herself, the person she knew as "Aroma White" wouldn't do such a thing. 

But maybe there was something different, when it came to Helena. Always pushing her to sing, always making sure she was doing her best, but never finding any time to confort Aroma. 

It was like they didn't know each other anymore.  
Her work grew to such a level that Helena was more like a manager who she never met before, like she didn't care for her beyond her ability to sing.  
Where was the joy in a sister like that? Was she truly a sister to her? Or just someone to order her around? 

She let out a sigh, and stood up from her bed. For another hour, she still hadn't been able to sleep. So she decided to stand up to walk around for a few minutes. 

But as she stood up from her the bed, her left foot tripped on the cabinet close to her, causing her to fall on her face with a loud "THUD!" noise

"Ack!"  
Laying on the floor, she turned around as the impact caused her to tear up a little. "I hate this.." 

There was no way her day could have gone any worse.  
All she could ask for was to peacefully close her eyes, to drift away from reality and into the world of her own dreams. So that when she came back, maybe nothing will have happened.  
Maybe Neko will be fine, and nothing ever went wrong. 

But she knew that was nothing more than a childish wish, one that would never come true. What she had done was not an illusion, it wasn't something false.  
It was very much real, and Aroma couldn't simply run away from it. 

She needed to confront the issue. But how? 

"Just.. how?!", she mumbled to herself as she sat on the floor.  
Was she just going to be a coward and do nothing about it? Did that mean that she hadn't learned a single thing?

Standing up, she heard a sudden knock on her door. 

"..."  
There was only one person who could be knocking, yet neither of them said a word.  
For two seconds that felt like two minutes, Aroma didn't know what to do. 

Sure, maybe addressing the issue now and apologizing would fix everything, but she was still nervous! She had never been placed in this kind of situation, not once. 

But..  
If she wanted things to keep being the way they were, she needed to face her. Here and now. 

Remembering the situation with Helena, remembering all the time she spent with Neko..  
Those words she repeated to herself as she moved, coming to a booming crescendo as she let the wish, the realization of her true self unravel. 

I am myself. Not who anyone else says I am. I am who I decide I am.  
Not "Paff", but Aroma.  
Not an idol, a person.  
And I'll do what it takes to prove that. 

Feeling herself wrapped in a subtle, yet persistent feeling of determination, she stood up and walked slowly towards the door. 

"Okay, calm down.. Let's go.." Aroma whispered to herself, in such a low volume that she couldn't even hear herself. 

And as she opened the door..  
Before Aroma could blink, Neko had dashed forward and hugged her. 

"N, Neko?!"  
"I'm-I'm so sorry! I didn't know and I just, I just ended up hurting you..", she said as she weeped, her words impossible to understand thanks to her sobs. 

"N, No, It's okay, I'm the one who.."  
"No! It was, it was.." 

Aroma moved with Neko towards her bed, sitting down.

"Neko, I.. I lost control of myself, and I ended up hurting you.. It's okay if you don't want to forgive me-"  
"Dummy! Shut up!"  
.  
Aroma recoiled back, letting out a small "Huh?"  
Why was she..? 

"I get how you feel, dummy! I know I made it hard for you back then, with all those horrible things I said. But, you can forgive me, right? If I just.."  
"Neko, I do forgive you. I just, don't know what took over me, and I promise to never do it again."  
"You can't just say that! I know, that what you're going through isn't easy. Neko might not be able to help you much with it, but as long as I can help you feel comfy.." 

Within Neko's eyes, danced affection like shining, flickering stars. Gently, crystalline tears ran down her face. Aroma carefully wiped them off her face with her finger. 

Silently, she wrapped her arms around Neko.  
And, if only for a second, a single ephemeral moment, they both felt at complete peace. 

Aroma moved her around around Neko's head, softly playing with her hair.  
"A, Ah!"  
Neko moved away slightly, trying to hide her burning red face. "Y, you can't just do that out of nowhere.."

"But you're enjoying it, aren't you?", Aroma flirted as she slowly moved closer.  
"M, maybe." 

Aroma chuckled as she carefully ruffled her hair.  
"No fair..", Neko mumbled as she shuffled around the bed, hugging Aroma as she did.  
The pair playfully rolled around the bed, trying to one-up each other in playing with each other's hair. 

They did so for a few minutes, until they felt the exhaustion from staying up so late weigh down on them. 

"Neko, you should go sleep on your bed.."  
"Neko doesn't want to!", she said as she hugged Aroma as tight as she could. "Neko wants to sleep here, with Aroma!"

Aroma's face lit up, still feeling a bit embarrassed.  
"Are, are you sure?"  
"I am!"

Strengthening her embrace around Aroma, as if she never wanted to let go, she slowly placed her head in Aroma's chest.  
"Ehehe, it's so soft down here.."  
"Hey!"  
"Okay, okay, fine." 

"Hey, Aroma?", Neko whispered as she rolled over to hug Aroma again.  
"Yeah?"  
"Let's make a promise! As long as we're together, let's help each other as much as we can!"  
"A promise.." 

That single word bounced within Aroma's head, from one side to the other.  
So that as long as the two remain close to each other, one would use all they had to protect the other, to support and help the other.  
A promise, the pure manifestation of a bond. One that is not to be broken.  
Aroma couldn't quite understand why Neko would want that.  
Or, maybe..  
Maybe Neko wanted to make sure that Aroma would never drift away from her. So that, no matter the distance, no matter how dark the day may seem, they could simply think of their promise to bring each other hope.  
Was that it? 

Aroma thought about it for a few seconds. 

"A promise it is then."  
And so, she knew that she wasn't alone.


End file.
